New scientific article

J Occup Health. 2010 Oct 7;52(5):294-301. Epub 2010 Aug 6.

Effect of a two-hour training on physicians' skill in interpreting Pneumoconiotic chest radiographs.
Ngatu NR, Suzuki S, Kusaka Y, Shida H, Akira M, Suganuma N.
Department of Environmental Medicine, Kochi Medical School, Kochi University, Kohasu, Okocho, Nankoku-shi, Kochi, Japan. drngatu_roger@yahoo.fr
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Occupational lung diseases have specific radiographic manifestations not always well known by physicians. In Japan, asbestos-related diseases became a public health concern after the "Kubota Shock", when a number of workers and residents living nearby a manufacturer of asbestos-made ducts developed mesothelioma caused by asbestos exposure. This preliminary intervention trial evaluated the effect of two-hour training on inexperienced physicians' skill in interpreting pneumoconiotic chest radiographs.
METHODS: One hundred-two Japanese physicians participated in two reading-tests, using 12 radiographs, before and after the two-hour training with ILO/ICRP and Japan Pneumoconioses Study Group (JPSG) reading materials. Physicians had to check for the presence or absence of small opacity and pleural plaque consistent with pneumoconiosis. Sensitivity and specificity equal or greater than 70% were considered good, 50 to 69% acceptable and less than 50%, poor.
RESULTS: Post-training improvements in physicians' skills were seen. For small opacity, there was an increase in the proportion of physicians with good specificity, from 42% to 60%. For pleural plaque, the proportion of physicians with good specificity and good sensitivity increased, from 60% to 67% and from 18% to 25%, respectively. Also, significant improvements were observed in overall sensitivity for pleural plaque, from 46% to 60% (p<0.0001), and specificity for small opacity, from 65% to 73% (p<0.0001).
CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that two-hour participatory training may enhance physicians' skill in interpreting pneumoconiotic chest radiographs. There are countries without any pneumoconiosis screening program despite the WHO/ILO call for worldwide cooperation in eliminating it. Although the two-hour course cannot replace the five-day ILO workshop, such a program would be useful in areas with environmental or occupational exposure to dust.
PMID: 20697183 [PubMed ]

Special reception of research grants recipients from a Japanese sponsor, Okayama, Japan

From July 9 to July10,we took part in a special event in Okayama, Japan, where 37 recipients
of the 2010 research grants from a japanese sponsor gathered.
It was wonderful to meet so many researchers from different Japanese Universities. A special
grant certificate was given to each recipient and I was granted to take a picture with the boss. I was accompamied by one of our unversity staff, Dr Hirota Ryoji.

Visit at Kochi Health Sciences Center, biggest hospital in the Town, 7July 2010

Last week, I and two undergraduate students from Hawaii University have visited the KHSC hospitals here in Kochi, Japan. We were welcomed by the president of the hospital who introduce to us different departments of thismedical setting.

Some recent articles (quelques articles recents) 2009-2010 (1)

Anti-inflammatory Effects of Limonene from Yuzu (Citrus junos Tanaka) Essential Oil on Eosinophils
Ryoji Hirota 1 , Ngatu Nlandu Roger 1 , Hiroyuki Nakamura 1 , Hee-Sun Song 1 , Masayoshi Sawamura 1 , and Narufumi Suganuma 1
1 Authors Hirota, Roger, and Suganuma are with Dept. of Environmental Medicine, Kochi Medical School, Kohasu, Oko, Nankoku, Kochi 783-8505, Japan. Author Nakamura is with Dept. of Environmental and Preventive Medicine, Kanazawa Univ. Graduate School of Medical Science. Author Song is with Dept. of Food and Nutrition, Kwang Ju Health College. Author Sawamura is with Major of Food Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Kochi Univ. Direct inquiries to author Hirota (E-mail: hirotar@kochi-u.ac.jp).
Copyright © 2010 Institute of Food Technologists®
KEYWORDS
limonene • monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) • nuclear factor (NF) kappa B • p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) • reactive oxygen species (ROS) • yuzu (Citrus junos Tanaka) essential oil
ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: Yuzu (Citrus junos Tanaka) has been used as a traditional medicine in Japan. We investigated in vitro anti-inflammatory effects of limonene from yuzu peel on human eosinophilic leukemia HL-60 clone 15 cells. To examine anti-inflammatory effects of limonene on the cells, we measured the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), nuclear factor (NF) kappa B, and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). We found that low concentration of limonene (7.34 mmol/L) inhibited the production of ROS for eotaxin-stimulated HL-60 clone 15 cells. 14.68 mmol/L concentration of limonene diminished MCP-1 production via NF-kappa B activation comparable to the addition of the proteasomal inhibitor MG132. In addition, it inhibited cell chemotaxis in a p38 MAPK dependent manner similar to the adding of SB203580. These results suggest that limonene may have potential anti-inflammatory efficacy for the treatment of bronchial asthma by inhibiting cytokines, ROS production, and inactivating eosinophil migration.
MS 20090713 Submitted 7/26/2009, Accepted 1/10/2010.
DIGITAL OBJECT IDENTIFIER (DOI)10.1111/j.1750-3841.2010.01541.x

Our recent volunteer and academic trip to Congo DRC,Africa (recent sejour humanitaire et academique au Congo RDC)

From October25 to November6, 2009 we had some volunteer and academic activities in Lubumbashi, Kinshasa and Matadi (Bas-congo). We gave conferences, attended the 2nd conference on Occupational safety and health in Lubumbashi, have visited the school built by the N.G.O. LIPS and gave another conference,in collaboration with WHO, in Matadi-city, Bas-congo province. The opporunity was given to us to start a new research projects with our Congolese counterpart on the field of occupational health, on "Needlestick and sharp injuries among congolese healthcare workers in hospitals", and "Cassava miller's lung" which is one Occupational Lung disease caused by hypersensitivity to dust. Cassava and corn flour may cause a kind of pneumoconiosis but there is a paucity of information and data on its effects in human's lung.

Our presentation at the OSH conference in Lubumbashi was about the "Training of doctors in pneumoconiosis chest radiographs interpretation", a study carried out in Japan in which 102 japanese doctors took part.

(Du 25 octobre au 6Novembre 2009, nous avons sejourne en RDC ou nous avons realise quelques activites academiques et humanitaires a Lubumbashi, Kinshasa et Matadi, province du Bas-congo. Nous avons donne une conference a l'Universite de Lubumbashi et pris part aux 2e journnees congolaises de sante et securite au travail . Nous avons egalement visite l'ecole que notre O.N.G. LIPS, Ligue pour la Promotion de la Sante, a construite dans le cadre du projet Heiwa Mura (village de Paix) qui comprend les volets sante,education et agriculture.

Nous avons egalement anime une conference a Matadi, en collaboration avec OMS/Bas-congo, sur les Accidents Exposant au sang chez les personnels de soins en milieu hospitalier. C'etait une occasion de lancer deux projets d'etude,en collaboration avec des chercheurs congolais, a savoir sur "la situation des AES dans les hopitaux congolais" et " le Poumon du meunier africain ou l'Asthme professionnel du aux poussieres de Manioc/Mais",deux themes dont les donnees statistiques ou publications manquent a ce jour,surtout pour le deuxieme).

Teaching activity

One of the activities I really like is teaching. A teacher's best rewards is the rich experience of realizing that his lesson is understood to the extent that students can "master" in what they learned, even become better then him/her. Roger

LIPS SCHOOL PROJECT

LIPS school project started in the 2005 with the financial support of the Italian cooperation in Congo DRC. An area of 5 Ha was bought at the rural zone of PASA near Kinshasa.There was no school, no health center in the area.We already built some classes with the rest of fund received from the Italian cooperation; but there is still a need to build more classes. The elementary school students are studying in morning and junior highschool in afternoon,but we would like to have them study from morning to afternoon if we have more classes.

A part from the school, we are growing crops,vegetables in the commnity farm which is in the same area and this year a mobile clinic project will start in order to offer primary healthcare to villagers.In the future, we plan to build a health center there. Improving the literacy rate, the community heath status and families income is the main purpose of this project that we call the "Congo-Heiwa Mura Project" or Peace Village Project. If well implemented,this Heiwa Mura Project will be a model of development initiative to be established in many other rural areas of the country.

NGO Congo-Kodomokikin (Congo child fund) donates school supplies to orphan kids and other in need, kinshasa, DRC.

On March 17, 2009 our team organized a meeting with those kids that we support for their education since 2007. A day before, kids were given a paper each to write down their dreams and draw a picture of their face to be shown to their japanese sponsors. Many want to be either doctors, engineers or mechanics . we shared some drinks and donated notebboks, pens and pencils we brought from japan. Most of them are working hard and having good results at school.

(Le 17 mars 2009, notre equipe a organise une rencontre avec les enfants dont nous sponsorisons l'education a kinshasa depuis 2007. La veille, un papier a ete remis a chacun pour y ecrire son reve et dessiner sa face; cela pour etre montre a leurs sponsors japonais. Certains veulent devenir medecins, ingenieurs ou mecaniciens. nous leur avons donne des cahiers, stylos et crayons.Presque tous travaillent tres bien a l'ecole).

News about our scientific and volunteer trip to Congo DRC/africa, march 2009

Lubumbashi university, March 18-21, 2009.
I and my boss from kochi university-japan,prof Suganuma, visited DRC to start a collaboration between our department of Environmental and occupational health, Kochi Medical school, with the faculty of medicine of University of lubumbashi in south Congo DRC. After meeting kinshasa university president and visited university hospital, hopital general, Ecuries clinic and clinique Ngaliema, we flew to Lubumbashi where we gave conferences and had meetings with local academical authorities. A need for a fruitful collaboration between our unversities was expressed by the staff of University of Lubumbashi, not only in the filed of occupational heatlth but other domains as well.
(Nous venions de sejourner en RD Congo pour une mission de service qui consistait a demarrer une collaboration entre notre departement de medecine environnementale et sante au travail d'une part,et la faculte de medecine de l'universite de Lubumbashi de l'autre.Avant cela, nous avons visite l'universite de kinshasa, les cliniques universitaires, ecuries clinic et la clinique ngaliema a Kinshasa,avant de nous rendre a lubumbashi. Sur place, nous avons tenu deux conferences et avons eu des rencontres et reunions avec les autorites acaemiques locales qui ont souhaite que la collaboration entre nos deux universites soit aussi elargie a d'autres facultes,autres que la medecine. Un article sur notre mission a ete publie par le journal 'le potentiel' du 21 mars 2009. L'accueil chaleureux et l'hospitalite congolaise etaient au rendez-vous. disons grand merci a nos hotes).
Dr Ngatu Roger Nlandu
PS: l'evenement insolite de ce bref sejour a ete le fait de retrouver dans la salle de conference, a l'universite de lubumbashi, un ancien collegue de ma promotion (UNIKIN) que j'ai vu en reve environs 1 mois avant de recevoir l'invitation du recteur.C'etait un grand temoignage pour mon boss qui, lui, en etait au courant depuis fevrier( voir photo ci-bas).

Publication2-presentation at ICOH 2009 conference,march22-27,Cape town, south africa

29th ICOH, International Congress on Occupational Health
March 2009,Cape Town, South Africa.
(Abstract submitted in July 2008, accepted in September 2008)
　　
Title: View-box seminar as a tool to improve Physicians’ Skill in reading
Chest radiographs related to Pneumoconioses

Ngatu roger Nlandu, MD1; Shun Suzuki1, Narufumi Suganuma, MD, PhD1; Yukinori Kusaka, MD, PhD2.
1. Department of Environmental Medicine, Kochi University Graduate Medical School.
Kohasu, Oko-cho. Nankoku 8505. Tel / Fax: +81 88 880 2407. Japan.
2. Department of Environmental Health, School of Medicine, Fukui University, Japan.

Abstract:
Objective
The ILO / WHO Global Programme on Elimination of Silicosis, adopted in 2003, aimed at establishing an international co-operation for elimination of Silicosis as occupational health problem by 2030. In 2006, cluster of environmental mesothelioma among inhabitants near an asbestos factory triggered social concern for asbestos in Japan and general practitioners as well as occupational physicians recognized the impact of asbestos. Numerous cases of misinterpretation of radiographs often occur, leading to biased diagnosis. This intervention trial was aimed at improving local physicians’ skill in Pneumoconioses CXR interpretation..
Method
Twenty-five physicians of Kochi, Japan, underwent two reading-tests using 12 test-radiographs, before and after a training session with standard films of ILO 2000 International classification of pneumoconioses chest radiographs, conducted by a NIOSH B-reader.
Result

Although variability has been observed among readers, the general trend was towards improvement. 80% (20/25) of readers had a good Sensitivity for the variable “small opacity” (≥ 0.70) in post-intervention reading-test, compared to 32% (8/25) before, and a very little increase readers with good specificity score (≥0.70) was observed, 20%(5/25) and 16%(4/25) respectively. However, for “plaque”, an increase of number of readers with higher score of Sensitivity and Specificity was observed for the intermediate sub-category (0.50 – 0.69). Mean values of Sensitivity and Specificity got increased, especially Sensitivity for “small opacity” (0.89 before and 0.93 after) and “plaque” (0.60 and 0.73 respectively), and Specificity for “profusion”(0.56 – 0.59). Mc Nemar’s Chi2 test was　significant for sensitivity for plaque (P=0.0013), marginally significant for Specificity for plaque (P=0.1701) and Sensitivity for small opacity (P=1573), not significant for Specificity for“small opacity” (P=0.4795).

Conclusion

This intervention corroborates with other previously published works, stressing the importance of use of ILO standard films for interpreting CXR related to pneumoconioses. Even non-experienced individuals, if well trained under controlled conditions,may read CXR related to those occupational diseases; but excluding standard films while performing CXR interpretation

can restrict reading performance.

international OSH/PAOT workshop in Tokyo, Feb2-3,2009

Last Feb2-3 we attended a workshop in Tokyo. Participants were professors, doctors and nurses working in the field of occupational safety and health, from Korea and Japan. At the end, different groups gave a presentation of risk assessment and actions proposal for small enterprises or factories. Finally, my group entertained the participants with african jambo dance. It was an wnderful experience for all of us.

Dr Ngatu roger and JAAM band members share wonderful mini-concert moment and toys with japanese kids, Kagami-cho,Kochi-Feb2009

We were invited by the kagami kindergarten staff to entertain the kids living in the area at Kagami-cho, Konan-city, here in Kochi prefecture.
A part from music performance in which japanese, american and african songs and games have been performed, we shared toys with them. It was an interesting experience as all of kids and

parents could have a harmonious give and take or exchange with us.

New group of congolese orphan kids receiving schorlarship donation fron Japan

In September 2008, a new group of 11 orphan kids from Limete city, Kinshasa, received scholarship donations from japanese donors. Almost all of them have quit school 1 or 2 years ago because of non payment of school tuition. Earlier, in May 2008, 3 other female orphan kids have received support from 3 donors from kochi , Japan. The donations were payed by a japanese volunteer who visited congo and the kids' schools.

lips/Congokodomokikin volunteer work in Africa and Japan

-LIgue des volontaires pour la Promotion de la Sante , LIPS and Congo Child Fund

LIgue pour la Promotion de la Sante , LIPS, and Congo Child Fund's volunteer work as reported by Dr Ngatu Roger Nlandu, co-founder.

"Every single human being is the image of God, the expression of His inner

nature. Caring and serving humanity, starting from the family-society- nation

and world, is our common reason of life that gives us the highest value among

all creatures".

LIPS/CongoKK volunteer projects in Africa-Japan and scientific works

- LIgue des volontaires pour la Promotion de la Sante , LIPS-
LIgue pour la Promotion de la Sante , LIPS, and "RD Congo kodomokikin"'s volunteer work. as reported by Dr Ngatu Roger Nlandu, co-founder.





"Every single human being is the image of God, the expression of His inner

nature. Caring and serving humanity, starting from the family-society-

nation and world, is our common reason of life that gives us the highest

value among all creatures".